'  <9  VVl  -  \ 


THE  WAR  RELIEF  FUND  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


THE 

REASON 

WHY 


TO  BE  ADMINISTERED  BY  THE 
BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
ISO  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


THE  REASON  WHY 

^ 

A  Statement  Regarding  the  War  Relief  Fund  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

^  ^  ^ 

Beginnings 

Soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  War  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  deluged  with 
calls  of  distress  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  especially  from  the  countries  of  Europe. 

The  Board  had  available  the  balance  of  its 
customary  Emergency  Fund,  but  this  would 
suffice  only  for  the  ordinary  emergencies  aris¬ 
ing  during  a  normal  year.  This  fund  was 
manifestly  inadequate  for  such  a  world  up¬ 
heaval.  Hence  the  call  for  a  ^^Methodist  War 
Belief  Fund”  was  issued  by  the  Board  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  War. 

On  November  2,  1914,  the  Board  of  Bishops 
published  to  the  Church  their  endorsement 
of  this  appeal  and  made  supplementary  recom¬ 
mendations  as  to  the  plan. 

The  Itemized  Budget 

The  General  Committee  of  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sions,  comprising  the  Bishops,  a  ministerial 
and  a  lay  representative  from  each  of  the  fif¬ 
teen  General  Conference  Districts,  and  fifteen 
representatives  elected  by  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  adopted  on  November  10th  a  budget 
and  an  appeal  calling  for  a  Fund  aggregating 
$225,500  for  the  relief  of  distress  and  to  meet 
the  world-wide  emergency. 

This  total  was  not  the  result  of  a  haphazard 
guess  nor  a  general  estimate.  The  Standing 
Committees  on  the  several  countries  went 
carefully  over  the  situation  in  the  divisions 
committed  to  them  and  submitted  independent 

3 


reports.  The  items  as  approved  by  the  General 
Committee  are  as  follows: 


Germany  .  $42,500 

Austria-Hungary  .  7,500 

Switzerland  .  2,000 

Scandinavia  .  10,000 

Finland  .  2,000 

Russia  .  5,000 

Bulgaria  .  3,000 

Prance  .  15,000 

Italy  .  5,000 

Belgium  .  18,000 


Total  for  Europe . $110,000 

South  America  .  $12,000 

Africa  . 25,000 

Eastern  Asia  .  22,500 

Southern  Asia .  53,000 

Mexico  .  3,000 


Total  for  Other  Lands . $115,500 


Grand  Total  . $225,500 


Its  Purpose 

With  regard  to  the  purpose  of  this  Fund  the 
General  Committee  recorded  itself  as  follows: 
^^No  part  of  the  War  Relief  Fund  will  be  used 
for  the  regular  work  of  the  Board.  It  stands 
alone  to  meet  a  crisis — ^to  save  from  the 
emergency  of  disaster  people  and  churches 
whose  servants  we  are  in  the  Gospel  of  our 
compassionate  Lord.” 

It  is  not  possible  within  the  limits  of  this 
pamphlet  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the 
emergencies  that  have  arisen  throughout  all 
the  mission  fields  occupied  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Where  further  informa¬ 
tion  is  desired  the  Corresponding  Secretaries 
will  gladly  answer  inquiries. 

It  may  occasion  surprise  to  some  that  coun¬ 
tries  not  actually  engaged  in  war  should  be 
included  in  measures  for  War  Relief.  Some  of 
the  circumstances  which  led  the  General  Com¬ 
mittee  to  its  decision  are  clearly  set  forth  in 
the  following  paragraphs  under  ^‘WAR  CON¬ 
DITIONS.” 


4 


For  Instance 

Dr.  B.  M.  Tipple  of  Rome  writes  to  the 
Board  from  Udine,  just  across  the  Austrian 
frontier  in  Italy — ^^Yesterday  I  counted  at  the 
station  about  two  hundred  refugees  who  were 
just  in  from  Russia  and  the  Balkans.  What  a 
sight  they  were!  Mothers  with  children  in 
arms ;  fathers  with  lines  of  suffering  and 
anxiety  furrowed  deep  in  their  faces ;  old  folks, 
bent  and  feeble,  from  whose  eyes  the  fire  of 
courage  and  hope  had  passed.  A  sort  of  dull, 
dumb  stupor  possessed  them.  What  will  they 
do  in  these  coming  winter  days?  How  will 
they  eat  ?  Where  will  they  find  shelter  ?  There 
they  were  huddled  together  in  that  cold,  barren 
station,  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  poor,  pre¬ 
cious  people  without  a  country.  It  is  calcu¬ 
lated  that  there  are  now  in  Italy  five  hundred 
thousand  of  these  homeless  people,  to  be  cared 
for — by  whom 

WAR  CONDITIONS 

Germany  and  Austria-Hungary 

In  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  the 
Methodist  churches  are  very  largely  deprived 
of  their  regular  pastors,  while  the  churches 
themselves  continue  in  a  larger  tide  of  life 
than  before  the  War.  Arrangements  must  be 
made  for  the  carrying  on  of  services,  for  the 
support  of  the  absent  preachers’  families,  and 
for  all  the  expenses  that  gather  about  churches 
as  living  institutions. 

Meanwhile  the  sustaining  membership  is 
largely  in  the  army.  Many  of  the  bread¬ 
winners  of  the  congregation  and  membership 
have  been  killed,  leaving  distressed  widows  and 
orphans.  Others  have  returned  wounded, 
maimed,  unfit  for  war,  and  equally  unfit  to 
resume  their  normal  occupations. 

The  great  indebtedness  on  church  property, 
whose  interest  must  be  met  if  the  churches 
are  to  survive  at  all,  has  been  a  great  burden 
at  the  best;  now  it  is  intolerable.  In  many 
cases  the  properties  are  threatened;  the 

5 


churches  are  in  danger  of  being  lost  to  the 
denomination. 

Tkance 

In  France  great  pressure  is  upon  the  young 
Methodist  Church  to  undertake  relief  measures 
both  for  its  own  membership  and  for  the 
neighborhood.  If  we  are  to  secure  the  good 
will  of  the  people  for  the  future  and  to  prove 
that  we  are  a  worthy  addition  to  the  religious 
forces  of  the  republic,  we  must  show  our¬ 
selves  friendly  and  helpful  at  this  time.  There 
is  need  to  open  a  small  orphanage  and  to 
undertake  other  measures  of  immediate  relief. 

Belgium 

We  have  no  direct  mission  work  in  Belgium, 
but  our  people  are  greatly  stirred  over  the 
calamities  of  this  stricken  land.  Here  is  the 
acute  center  of  disease,  hunger,  all  manner  of 
suffering  and  deep  distress.  There  must  be 
expenditures,  through  channels  to  be  selected 
by  the  Board,  not  for  the  creation  of  a  mission 
but  for  the  Christlike  exercise  of  the  great 
compassion  that  fills  our  people^s  hearts. 

Italy 

While  Italy  is  not  at  war  the  church  suffers 
from  the  mobilization  of  the  army,  and  the 
return  to  Italy  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
poor  Italians  who  have  been  working  in  Ger¬ 
many,  Austria-Hungary,  and  France.  Many 
of  our  Italian  pastors  are  in  the  army,  while 
their  families  are  left  behind,  and  substitutes 
must  be  secured  for  the  carrying  on  of  the 
regular  work  of  the  churches.  The  cost  of 
living  is  excessive,  and  the  interest  rates  on 
the  Mission's  large  loans  have  been  increased. 

Scandinavia 

A  partial  mobilization  exists  in  Scandinavia 
and  the  wheels  of  commerce  have  almost  en¬ 
tirely  stopped.  Scandinavian  carrying  trade, 
a  large  source  of  income,  is  increasingly 
threatened,  and  there  is  the  almost  total 

G 


collapse  of  ordinary  financial  plans.  The 
great  Jerusalem  Church  in  Denmark,  and  the 
people  in  the  churches  of  all  Scandinavia, 
must  have  special  relief. 

Eussia 

Our  Eussia  Mission,  though  not  large,  holds 
fine  potentialities  and  is  placed  where  there 
is  great  opportunity  for  relief  work  amongst 
tens  of  thousands  of  Eussians  and  Finns.  Our 
new  property  is  now  being  used  as  a  hospital, 
while  the  number  of  people  in  acute  distress 
is  increasing. 


Bulgaeia 

The  people  of  Bulgaria,  so  recently  afflicted 
by  their  own  war,  are  living  in  a  state  of  con¬ 
stant  uncertainty.  They  are  hoping  and  pray¬ 
ing  that  they  may  not  be  drawn  into  this 
European  maelstrom.  Their  connections  with 
the  outside  world  are  practically  severed.  The 
country  is  under  military  rule  and  a  mora¬ 
torium  has  been  established  to  meet  the  finan¬ 
cial  crisis.  Dr.  Count  writes :  revival  such 

as  Bulgaria  has  not  hitherto  experienced  is 
now  in  progress.  People  are  uniting  with  the 
Church  every  Sunday.’^ 

Stvitzeeland 

The  Swiss  army  is  mobilized,  the  churches 
stripped  of  both  preachers  and  sustaining 
members,  while  trade,  so  largely  dependent 
upon  great  bodies  of  tourists,  is  stationary. 
Switzerland,  ordinarily  a  prosperous  land  and 
exceedingly  thrifty,  is  financially  at  a  stand¬ 
still. 


ISToeth  Afeica 

North  Africa  is  really  a  hinterland  of 
Europe  and  matters  here  are  very  acute.  The 
one  important  factor  in  the  case  is  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  American  missionaries.  It  may 
be  fairly  said  that  the  cause  of  Christ  is  visibly 
represented  by  them,  and  by  them  alone,  to 

7 


the  Moslem  mind  in  this  most  critical  hour. 
The  rates  of  exchange  have  risen  high,  and 
the  distress  from  poverty  is  exceedingly  great. 

Africa 

For  the  remainder  of  Africa  we  are  from 
day  to  day  awaiting  with  bated  breath,  not 
knowing  what  calamities  may  be  overtaking 
the  lands  from  the  invasion  of  European 
forces,  and  still  worse,  from  native  outbreaks. 
Prices  have  doubled  and  trebled;  rates  of  ex¬ 
change  are  high ;  our  missionaries  are  seriously 
perplexed. 


South  America 

South  America  is  almost  prostrated.  Self- 
support  and  government  subventions  have  been 
so  suddenly  threatened  with  arrest  that  our 
schools  are  in  danger,  and  the  carrying  on  of 
the  Mission  on  anything  like  the  scale  on 
which  it  moves  in  normal  times  is  most  diffi¬ 
cult.  Eates  of  interest  have  become  very  high, 
exchange  is  troublesome  and  expensive  and 
prices  have  advanced  almost  out  of  reason. 


India 

India  has  four  factors  entering  into  war 
difficulties.  First:  the  Government  has  begun 
to  withdraw  portions  of  the  grants  made  to 
our  schools  for  educational  purposes.  The 
whole  school  system  of  Methodism  has  begun 
to  sujffer,  and  is  threatened  with  still  larger 
perplexity  from  further  withdrawal  or  lessen¬ 
ing  of  government  grants.  Second:  the  rise 
in  prices  is  marked  and  the  tendency  is  still 
upward.  Third:  the  loss  in  exchange  is  very 
considerable;  immediately  after  the  war  broke 
out,  it  ran  as  high  as  16  per  cent.  Fourth: 
the  local  resources  are  necessarily  cramped. 
So  large  is  the  volume  of  our  work  in  India, 
and  so  considerable  the  factors  of  local  finance, 
that  financial  dislocation  promises  the  utmost 
confusion  tmless  special  relief  is  afforded. 

8 


Malaysia 

Malaysia  is  more  dependent  than  any  of  our 
foreign  fields  on  local  resources,  for  it  has 
achieved  a  large  degree  of  self-support.  This 
makes  the  interruption  of  trade  and  the  short¬ 
age  of  government  help  in  the  schools  a  most 
serious  matter.  Exchange  has  risen  and  prices 
have  doubled. 

Philippine  Islands 

While  unrelated  to  the  war  in  a  direct  way, 
the  Philippine  Islands  feel  the  effects  acutely. 
There  has  been  a  marked  increase  of  prices 
with  such  a  cessation  of  commercial  activity 
as  entails  both  suffering  upon  the  people  and 
deep  concern  upon  the  missionaries. 

Japan 

Japan,  engaged  in  war  itself,  has  seen  a 
marked  cessation  of  business  activities  and 
considerable  rise  in  prices.  Besides,  the 
Church  in  Japan  is  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
three  years^  evangelistic  movement  which  was 
being  largely  financed  by  the  Japanese  them¬ 
selves.  This  most  hopeful  movement  has 
given  promise  of  affecting  the  nation  as  never 
before.  The  War  throws  this  out  of  gear,  and 
makes  in  addition  to  the  other  causes  named 
a  necessity  for  at  least  temporary  relief. 

China 

China  both  governmentally  and  commer¬ 
cially  is  greatly  embarrassed.  Much  of  the 
noble  work  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  that 
great  republic  is  cut  off  from  local  resources 
which  were  being  most  admirably  gathered  in. 
Prices  have  risen  and  exchange  is  high. 

Koeea 

Korea,  the  most  distressed  mission  field  of 
all  Eastern  Asia,  suffers  from  the  same  causes 
as  China.  Increase  of  rates  of  exchange,  stag¬ 
nation  of  business,  rise  in  prices — all  this  at 

9 


a  time  when  the  tide  of  religious  interest 
returns  to  a  signally  high  level. 

Mexico 

The  situation  in  Mexico  is  worse  than  at 
any  time  since  the  present  revolutionary  dis¬ 
turbance  began.  Many  of  the  channels  of 
export  and  import  between  Mexico  and 
Europe  have  been  closed.  The  fact  of  Euro¬ 
pean  war  has  made  some  of  the  Mexicans  feel 
that  the  United  States  would  under  no  cir¬ 
cumstances  interfere  in  Mexico.  The  with¬ 
drawal  of  our  troops  may  accentuate  this  feel¬ 
ing. 

With  government  still  unsettled,  railroads 
dismantled,  and  ordinary  business  concerns 
idle,  the  commercial  situation  is  very  depress¬ 
ing.  Within  the  past  few  months  one  of  our 
preachers  narrowly  escaped  death  at  the  hands 
of  a  firing  squad;  another  was  imprisoned  on 
the  false  charge  of  compelling  his  pupils  to 
salute  the  American  flag;  accusations  of  in¬ 
cendiarism  were  made  against  a  third;  two  of 
our  ministers  have  been  robbed  of  all  they 
possess,  and  one  of  our  local  preachers  has 
been  shot.  The  work  of  our  Church  in  Mexico 
has  gone  ahead,  but  it  has  done  so  in  the  face 
of  fearful  obstacles. 

A  WoKLD  Eevival 

We  are  not  herein  sounding  a  note  of  pessim¬ 
ism.  The  fields  were  never  so  ripe  unto  har¬ 
vest.  In  all  these  lands  there  is  a  marked 
turning  toward  God.  The  Church  of  God  is 
being  challenged  to  heroic  and  fruitful  en¬ 
deavor  as  never  before.  We  believe  that  the 
same  God  who  is  moving  the  hearts  of  the 
multitudes  throughout  the  world  will  also  lead 
us  out  of  our  overwhelming  and  unprecedented 
financial  difiiculties. 

WHY  A  METHODIST  FUND  ? 

Why  project  a  War  Eelief  Fund  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church? 

10 


Why  not  contribute  exclusively  to  the  several 
funds  of  a  public  character  ? 

BECAUSE  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  has  in  its  organized  life  an  effective 
agency  for  collecting  funds  without  additional 
expense. 

BECAUSE  in  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions  we  have  an  experienced  and  official 
medium  for  receiving  and  administering  the 
funds. 

BECAUSE  each  Foreign  Conference  ha& 
a  standing  Finance  Committee  which  can 
tabulate  the  needs  and  equitably  distribute 
the  funds  under  the  supervision  of  the  res¬ 
ident  Bishop  and  the  Superintendents  of 
Missions,  as  in  France,  Kussia,  Austria,  and 
Bulgaria. 

BECAUSE  the  missionaries  of  the  Meth¬ 
odist  Episcopal  Church  constitute  an  organ¬ 
ized  army  for  the  administering  of  financial 
and  spiritual  relief.  They  are  on  the  ground 
and  speak  the  language  of  the  people. 

BECAUSE  the  missionaries  will  be  able 
to  conserve  the  fraternal  relations  thus  estab¬ 
lished  for  the  further  strengthening  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ. 

BECAUSE  our  Church  has  more  work  in 
Europe  and  around  the  world  than  any  other 
American  denomination. 

BECAUSE  this  is  the  means  whereby  the 
most  effective  relief  can  be  brought  to  the  needs 
of  our  own  fiock. 

BECAUSE  we  stand  on  the  threshold  of 
a  world-wide  revival  of  religion.  Our  people 
must  be  heartened  and  helped  and  our  prop¬ 
erties  saved  from  embarrassment  or  loss  if  we 
would  face  the  opportunities  of  to-morrow  with 
adequacy  and  power.  Methodist  work  must  be 
safeguarded  with  Methodist  funds. 

Hence  the  conclusion  of  the  General  Com¬ 
mittee:  ^^Methodist  people  can  best  serve  the 
cause  of  their  fellow  Methodists  and  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  at  large  by  remitting  their  gifts  for 
special  War  Belief  through  the  agency  of  their 
own  Church.^^ 


11 


THE  EESPONSE 

In  the  presence  of  this  gigantic  task  the 
pastors  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Chnrch 
are  asked  to  devise  means  whereby  the  chil¬ 
dren,  the  young  people,  the  men^s  and  women’s 
organizations  and  the  entire  membership  of 
their  respective  churches  may  be  enlisted  in 
behalf  of  this  War  Eelief  Fund. 


Safeguakds 

It  should  of  course  be  clearly  understood 
that  this  is  NOT  THE  EEGULAE  OFFEE- 
ING  FOE  THE  BOAED  OF  FOEEIGN 
MISSIONS,  nor  is  any  part  of  the  Fund  to 
be  used  for  its  regular  work.  The  offerings 
of  the  congregations  and  of  the  Sunday  School 
should  be  especially  safeguarded  at  this  point. 
Otherwise  the  regular  income  of  the  Board 
will  suffer. 


Distribution  of  Funds 

Money  designated  by  donors  for  any  country 
outside  of  Europe  will  be  distributed  by  our 
representatives  in  that  country. 

In  the  respective  European  countries  the 
funds  will  be  distributed  through  Methodist 
District  organizations  and  our  local  relief  com¬ 
mittees. 

Undesignated  funds  received  for  War  Ee¬ 
lief  will  be  assigned  to  various  countries  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  greatest  need,  by  a  committee 
of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  composed  of 
fifteen  members. 


Eemittances 

Checks  and  money  orders  should  be  made 
payable  to  George  M.  Fowles,  Treasurer,  and 
forwarded  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
150  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York  City,  specifying 
that  the  money  is  for  War  Eelief.  Suitable 
acknowledgment  will  be  made  from  this  office 

12 


and  a  ^^Special  Gift’^  voucher  sent  for  the 
amount. 

THE  BOAED  OF  FOKEIGN  MISSIONS. 
Luther  B.  Wilson,  President, 

S.  Earl  Taylor, 

William  F.  Oldham, 

Frank  Mason  North, 

Corresponding  Secretaries, 
December,  1914. 


Additional  copies  of  this  pamphlet,  in  small  quantities, 
can  be  had  for  the  cost  of  postage,  namely  2  cents 
each,  or  25  cents  per  hundred. 


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ryA' 


